Irvine World News Basketball Tournament : Kennedy Shuts Down Saddleback

Before taking the floor against undefeated Saddleback High School Tuesday night in the Irvine World News tournament at Woodbridge High, Kennedy Coach John Mayberry told his players the key number was 45.

It wasn’t a figure that Mayberry had hoped to hold Saddleback to in the scoring department or the deficit he figured to lose by if his team played poorly against the highly regarded opponent.

Rather, 4 was the jersey number of Saddleback guard Craig Marshall and 5 was the jersey number of center Malru Dottin, the players Mayberry thought his team would have to contain if it hoped to win.

“I knew they were going to score, they’re fine players, but I wanted our guys to make them work for every point,” Mayberry said.

Mayberry made his point, and Saddleback’s duo had trouble getting theirs in a 59-52 victory that moved Kennedy (5-1) into the quarterfinals of the 32-team tournament. Kennedy plays Brea-Olinda on Thursday.

Dottin struggled to score 8 points, and though Marshall did score 22, the senior guard missed all 5 of his 3-point attempts. Saddleback dropped to 5-1.

Kennedy used a 2-3 zone that collapsed on Dottin in the low post, and point guard Mike Pettengill ran the offense efficiently, scoring 20 points and getting 10 assists. Pettengill’s free throws with 25 seconds remaining sealed the victory for the Fighting Irish.

“We beat them last year with the same defense,” Mayberry said. “We don’t play a zone or a man-to-man defense, but rather we play the ball.”

Saddleback never had the lead and managed to make only 15 of 46 shots. Kennedy eliminated Saddleback in the quarterfinals of the playoffs last year en route to the 3-A division title.

In other tournament games:

Brea-Olinda 86, Woodbridge 59--Brea made 16 of 26 shots in the first half for a 39-30 lead and coasted to a 27-point victory. Keith Walker scored 23 points and Matt Chamberlain added 17 to lead Brea (5-1).

Marina 59, Santa Ana 58--Cherokee Parks scored 26 points, including 4 in the final minute, that clinched the victory for the Vikings (5-2) at Irvine High. Marina trailed, 52-46, going into the fourth quarter but rallied behind Parks, who scored all 13 of his team’s fourth-quarter points.

University 52, Laguna Beach 46--University outscored Laguna Beach, 18-9, in the fourth quarter in the winners’ bracket game at University High. Pat Ferrell, with 19 points, and Lance Elmore, with 12, led the Trojans (3-3).

Long Beach Poly 71, Foothill 67 (2OT)--Melvin Jones led top-seeded Long Beach Poly (6-0), with 24 points at University High.

Irvine 70, Eisenhower 52--Bryan Allred scored 22 points, including 4 3-point field goals, for host Irvine.

Savanna 48, Fallbrook 42--Tim Tillman scored 14 points and Mustapha Abdi 12 for Savanna at Christ College Irvine.

In the consolation bracket:

Corona del Mar 56, Mission Viejo 51 (OT)--Matt Herrington scored 17 points and Brian Spratt 16 to lead Corona del Mar at Christ College Irvine.

Long Beach Wilson 76, Costa Mesa 53--Ron Dashiell scored 18 points and Sheldon Grigsby 14 for Long Beach Wilson at Christ College Irvine. Tim Nguyen scored 30 points for Costa Mesa.

Laguna Hills 96, Los Amigos 55--Craig Sheff scored 21 points and Beau Hossler 16 for Laguna Hills, which led, 58-21, at halftime at Woodbridge High School. Carlos Palomino scored 25 for Los Amigos.

Edison 59, Norco 35--Bill Martineau scored 19 points and Art Baird 12 for Edison, which led, 29-7, at halftime at Woodbridge High.

Dana Hills 54, Rubidoux 53--Center John Lloyd scored on a short bank shot with 7 seconds remaining as Dana Hills overcame a 7-point deficit in the final quarter.

Esperanza 83, Canyon Springs 79--Guard Shane Wattier scored on a 3-point shot and teammate Joe Foss added a layup in the final minute of play to give Esperanza the win.